This invention relates generally to a dual purpose cleaning card. More specifically, this invention relates to a card for cleaning optical, magnetic, chip, and thermal read, write or print heads, photo and optic sensors and feed path and other rollers associated therewith.
In this information age and cashless society, the role and range of various card applications have become increasingly widespread. For example, a card which carries data of one type or another (e.gs. magnetic strip, bar code, proximity, Wiegan and smart cards) is used in credit card swipe readers, ATM/POS (Point of Sale) terminals, facsimile and copy machines, slot machines, petroleum card readers, check readers, thermal printers, credit vending machines, time/badge readers, telephone card readers, currency counters, hotel door locks and toll gates to name a few. The possibilities are endless. The data-carrying card is generally inserted through a slot in the processing equipment, where the card may be engaged by one or more feed rollers and passes by a read, write or print head and/or photo or optic sensor for processing data carried by the card. In other instances, a paper supply is stored within the equipment and dispensed outwardly through a slot generally by feed rollers. In most equipment, feed rollers are arranged in pairs such that the card passes between opposed rotating surfaces of the rollers.
The friction between the feed rollers and the card passing therethrough causes the transfer of contaminants from the card to the rollers. Similarly, the sensors and heads become contaminated. As the contaminants accumulate on the rollers, sensors and heads, their efficiency is reduced. For example, the contaminants may change the friction of the roller surfaces causing the rollers to slip. Similarly, contaminants can cause the rollers to lose their elastomers over time. Elastomers make the rollers soft and pliable and give the "grip" often needed to accept, for example, dollar bills, etc. They may reduce the gap through which the card passes, therefore making passage difficult. The contaminants can also render the processing equipment inoperable.
In order to operate the equipment efficiently, the rollers, sensors and/or heads must be cleaned. By cleaning them on a regular basis, dirt, magnetic oxides, ink residue, paper dust (flash) and numerous other contaminants may be removed from all types of concealed heads, photo and optic sensors, and feed path and other rollers. As a result of cleaning, the equipment operates more efficiently and equipment downtime and service calls are reduced.
One conventional method for cleaning the heads, sensors, and/or rollers is to use a cleaning card. The cleaning card has the approximate dimensions of the data-carrying card. Typically, cleaning cards are constructed as a laminate of a semirigid core of acrylic, PVC, PET, or ABS plastic material or the like, with nonwoven fibers of a soft substantially nonabrasive material chemically bonded to both of the side surfaces thereof. The cleaning card may be presaturated with a solvent or the solvent may be added just prior to use of the cleaning card. Unfortunately, the chemical bonding process includes binders, adhesives, and other materials which are necessary for the lamination process, but which, in the presence of the solvents required for cleaning, will deteriorate and thus undermine the structural integrity of the card. A nonlaminated cleaning card has been described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,227,226 to Rzasa. The nonlaminated cleaning card is porous allowing penetration of the cleaning solvent. If the equipment is exposed to such cleaning solvent for too long a period of time, the equipment may be deleteriously affected. Moreover, conventional cleaning cards often disadvantageously introduce static into the equipment.
Another conventional method is to remove the contaminants by wiping the surface of the heads and rollers with a soft paper or rag impregnated with a cleaning solvent. In this case, however, it is necessary to disassemble the equipment for exposing the rollers and heads.
For low usage equipment, the recommended cleaning schedule is one time per week. For high usage, it is daily. Unfortunately, the heads are sensitive and can be damaged by rough cleaning and/or by the prolonged exposure to cleaning solvents.
Preventive maintenance is when the contaminants are cleaned off on a regular basis before the contaminants stop the equipment from working. A Preventive Maintenance card removes the easy-to-remove contaminants. Corrective maintenance is done to remove stubborn, burnt-in contaminants that prevent the equipment from working. For example, a thermal printer head heats up and burns in contaminants that a Preventive Maintenance card may not remove.
None of the prior cleaning methods adequately removes stubborn contaminates and the prolonged exposure to a cleaning solvent causes deterioration of the processing equipment and the cleaning card and slow down of the equipment.
Accordingly, there has been a need for one cleaning card which is effective in removing stubborn contaminates and for daily cleaning making the cleaning process faster, thus keeping the equipment running efficiently and with little interruption. There is also a need for a cleaning card that shortens the equipment exposure to the solvent. There is a further need for a cleaning card that is not subject to deterioration by the cleaning solvent. There is an additional need for one dual purpose card that can do both preventive and corrective maintenance while not building up a static charge. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.